A self-regulatory approach to assessment in higher education:A resource for the Sector

Students’ self-regulatory capacity impacts how well they do in higher education and their future careers (Bjork et al.,2013). Graduate outcomes typically focus around students becoming independent ‘life-long’ learners. Key to thisoutcome is supporting students to graduate being able to evaluate their own outputs, and to critique their ownstrengths and weaknesses (Schneider & Preckel, 2017). Empowering students to be self-regulatory can be supportedthrough effective, inclusive feedback practices (Sadler, 1989; 2017). Designing assessment methods, and thefeedback involved in developing the skills involved in those assessments, is integral to this developmental process ofself-regulation in students. However, the complexity of self-regulation and the many constructs related to it, makestranslation of research into practice complex (Jansen et al., 2019). This session presents an evaluation and synthesisof the literature around self-regulation in assessment, and presents a resource that focuses on accessible themes foreducators in HE.The resource discussed in this presentation is one of a developing series of outputs for the ‘EAT-Erasmus’ project.EAT-Erasmus is a 3-year EU-funded (Erasmus+) programme across 6 institutions in 5 countries. The project aims todesign resources and activities to support staff in the delivery of effective and impactful assessments across a rangeof national contexts. As an initial output, we have undertaken a synthesis of the literature in the field of selfregulation in assessment. This report, “A Self-Regulatory Approach to Assessment in Higher Education”, has beendesigned as a resource-bank for colleagues within the HE sector, and will lead to a range of outputs for the projectas a whole – all of which will be shared openly with colleagues internationally.Our report focuses on: The importance of self-regulation in assessment; creating conditions to support self regulated learning; developing high level self-regulatory skills; developing an integrated approach to self-regulatedlearning. We also summarise 25 papers as case studies for embedding self-regulation in assessment processes. Wehope that this resource will act as an encyclopaedic bank of research and scholarship related to self-regulation inassessment.This presentation will focus on introducing the report, and the key factors that lead to successful development ofself-assessment strategies. From models of self-regulation, to frameworks to evaluate practices, to examples ofeffective assessments, we will introduce the opportunities for colleagues to embed straightforward practices intotheir own assessment strategies. We will also briefly introduce the EAT-Erasmus project, and opportunities forcolleagues across all national sectors, to become involved.Key ReferencesBjork, R.A., Dunlosky, J. & Kornell, K. (2013). Self-Regulated Learning: Beliefs, Techniques, and Illusions, AnnualReview of Psychology, 64, 16.1–16.28Jansen, R. S., van Leeuwen, A., Janssen, J., Jak, S., & Kester, L. (2019). Self-regulated learning partially mediates theeffect of self-regulated learning interventions on achievement in higher education: A meta-analysis.Educational Research Review, 28, 1-20.Sadler, D. R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional Science, 18, 119–144. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00117714Sadler, D. R. (2017). Academic achievement standards and quality assurance. Quality in Higher Education, 23(2), 81–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538322.2017.1356614Schneider, M., & Preckel, F. (2017). Variables associated with achievement in higher education: A systematic reviewof meta-analyses. Psychology Bulletin, 143(6), 565-600. doi: 10.1037/bul000009